SAO PAULO (CNS)- Members of the local organizing committee for World Youth Day say that, with the recent election of an Argentine pope, they expect up to 2.5 million young people at the international event in Rio de Janeiro.

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP —“Prophecy should never seek to control or dominate. Rather, it should be offered. Beware of exaggeration and consider the issue of credibility.” The common sense, real-world assessment of the expression of exuberant faith came from Damian Stayne, the featured speaker at the Charism School and Miracle Healing Service conference, which was held Aug. 17- 19 at Immaculate Heart Academy.

WASHINGTON—Given widespread concern over the mounting human toll of high unemployment and stagnant economic conditions, Catholics can obtain timely, substantive information on the state of poverty in the United States and learn specific ways to assist those in need through a new Web site launched by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

The Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States hosted its inaugural “World Mission Dinner,” a gala fund-raiser held May 2 at The Pierre Hotel in New York City.

Seton Hall University’s (SHU) Whitehead School of Diplomacy, South Orange, and the Peace Islands Institute, Newark, co-sponsored “9/11 and Its Impacts on International Relations and Domestic Politics,” a scholarly forum held March 23 at SHU’s Bishop Dougherty University Center.

NEWARK—“If the poor represents the image of God, then what we do for the poor is never too much. What is important is to do charity, not talk of charity.”

These words characterized the life commitment of Sister Dulce Pontes, a member of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, who died in 1992 at the age of 78. Sr. Dulce will be beatified in Brazil on May 22.

NEWARK—As it has done consistently over the last several years with priestly ordinations, the Archdiocese of Newark is among the national leaders of men who will be ordained to the permanent diaconate later this year.

Archbishop John J. Myers will ordain 35 men May 21 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.

MONTCLAIR-Demonic spirits and the occult have been popular Hollywood plot devices for years, but on Oct. 13, over 650 people got to hear first-hand what battling the occult is really like.

Father Vincent Lampert, one of 24 exorcists who have been trained at the Vatican and authorized to serve in the United States, spoke at Montclair State University (MSU), the first installment in the "Archbishop John. J. Myers Lecture Series," which was hosted by the MSU Newman Catholic Campus Ministry.

SHU Selects Esteban as Interim President
SOUTH ORANGE - Dr. A. Gabriel Esteban, provost of Seton Hall University (SHU) since 2007, has been appointed interim president of the university. The decision was finalized June 16. Kurt T. Borowsky, chair of the SHU board of regents, said Esteban will serve a one-year term, effective July 1.

Esteban's near-term goal as interim president will be to build upon programs-already in the pipeline-that make up the university's strategic plan. As SHU provost, he has been responsible for the formulation of the strategic plan, overseeing the administration of all eight SHU colleges and schools, the division of Academic Affairs and  Enrollment Management.

SOUTH ORANGE - The life and legacy of Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) was the focus of the annual Women's Day of Reflection held at Seton Hall University (SHU) March 20.

Presented by the archdiocesan Women's Commission, the conference began at Holy Family Parish, Nutley, where Archbishop John J. Myers celebrated Mass. The theme of this year's event, "Hail the Cross, Our Only Hope," focused on Saint Teresa Benedicta's devotion to Christ and her philosophy regarding the role of women in the Church.

NEWARK-What if?

A clipped phase-two words and a question mark. However, it can reveal a multitude of possibilities on the purpose and direction of a single life. It can come at a critical moment, when someone pauses to consider one choice among many; a choice that will have profound consequences.

Father Pedro Bismarck Chau posed the what-if question to students at Saint Benedict's Prep, 520 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., on Nov. 3 as the featured speaker at the school's third annual Vocation Awareness Day program.

Mary Eased Sorrow, Pain of Benkovic
NUTLEY-"If it wasn't for the intercession of Mary, I wouldn't be here today," Johnnette S. Benkovic, keynote speaker at the annual Women's Day of Reflection, declared.

The April 4 event at Holy Family Parish drew over 800 guests. This year's theme "Mary and the Holy Spirit," holds special significance for Benkovic. After tragically losing her son Simon in a car accident, she lost her husband of 34 years, Anthony, to cancer just a few years later. She credits Our Lady with helping her through her trials.

After years as a non-practicing Catholic who "turned her back on The Way," Benkovic had a profound conversion in 1981 following a charismatic prayer meeting. Since then, she has made it her life's mission to spread the word of God throughout all media.

Given the unique status of the Holocaust as an icon of evil in a morally confused world, Holocaustdenial triggers revulsions similar to those triggered by blasphemy in the Middle Ages: the Holocaust-denier must be shunned for everyone else's moral health.

Thus it was completely understandable that, when Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications of four bishops illegally ordained in 1988 by the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, reporting and commentary focused on the fact that one of the four, Richard Williamson, is a Holocaust-denier and a man given to extolling that hoary anti-Semitic forgery, "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion."
 
Understandable, but something of freakish sideshow, for Williamson is an internationally known crank and no serious person can believe that Benedict XVI's act constituted an endorsement of Williamson's lunatic view of history. As the pope made clear at his Jan. 28 general audience, he has long recognized the Holocaust as a unique icon of wickedness-one that should call all of us "to reflect on the unpredictable power of evil when it conquers the heart of man."

NEWARK - The annual "Women's Day of Reflection," an all-day forum sponsored by the Women's Commission of the Archdiocese of Newark, will be held Saturday, April 4, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Holy Family Parish, 28 Brookline Ave., Nutley.

For most college students, doing manual labor in rural West Virginia-compared with reclining on a sunny beach in Florida-would not be high on a top-10 list of "favorite things to do" during winter break. However, a dedicated group of Caldwell College students discovered that working at Nazareth Farm in Salem, WV, proved to be an invaluable, spiritual experience-one that turned out to be far more meaningful than beach time.

325 Attendees Gain Insights on Faith, Caring


PARAMUS-The sixth annual Stewardship Day conference, held Nov. 3 at Paramus Catholic High School and sponsored by the archdiocesan Office of Development, celebrated an understanding of stewardship and its importance to the Church.

A spiritual journey that began two decades ago at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Park Ridge has led Thomas Garofalo to the Holy Land. Garofalo, who participated in youth activities at his parish, has been a representative for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in the Holy Land for the past two years.